The objectives of this study are to identify the relationship between the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) and emotional labor, and to study the association between emotional labor and musculoskeletal symptoms, absence or early leave due to physical problems among civil affairs officials.

391 public workers who provide social insurance service were analyzed. A structured self-reported questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographics, job stress, emotional labor, musculoskeletal symptoms and the experience of absence or early leave due to physical problems. For a comprehensive understanding of the relationship among these factors, multiple logistic regression analysis was used.

The Pearson coefficient was 0.409 between the job demand of KOSS and the emotional labor score. The odds ratio of musculoskeletal symptoms is 2.32(95% CI: 1.17~4.61), 2.48(95% CI: 1.15~5.33) in the groups of moderate and, high emotional labor score, respectively, compared to the low score group. On the other hand, the odds ratio of the experience of absence or early leave due to physical problems is 2.43(95% CI: 1.24~4.76) and, 3.08(95% CI: 1.44~6.57) in the same groups.

Emotional labor acts as a factor of job demand of KOSS, and has an effect on musculoskeletal symptoms and absence or early leave among civil affairs officials.